Vintage reproduction print of a painting of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god, by the artist, Deccan. Ready for display in a distressed wooden frame, painted green that measures 10 inches wide by 15 inches high by 5/8 inch deep. The print has been hand-embellished with silver glitter. Clear glass included. Outfitted with a wire for immediate hanging.
The Vanaras are highly-intelligent monkey-people. His mother, Anjana, is a beautiful, supernatural nymph-like spirit called an apsara. Hindu mythology says that Anjana was forced to be born here on the Earth because of a curse. The only way to lift the curse was to give birth to a son. Anjana was married to Kesari. Kesari is also the name of an Indian pudding dessert.
There are varying stories surrounding Hanuman's conception. Here is one.
Anjana would go to a nearby forest to pray to Lord Shiva for a son. One day, while she was praying, the king was conducting a fertility ritual. As part of the ritual, he shared a sacred pudding with his three wives, who later gave birth to Rama, Lakshamana, Bharata and Shatrughna. Lord Shiva, with the help of the wind god, Vayu, caused a kite to fly in the vicinity and snag a bit of the pudding and then with Vao's help, flew over the forest where Anjana was praying. Vayu, the wind god, caused the kite to drop the pudding into the open hands of Anjana, who ate the gift. Consequently, Vayo, the wind god, is considered father of Hanuman.
Hanuman had some of his father's gifts in that he could fly. As a baby, he thought the sun was an orange and when he flew up toward the sun in order to grab it, Indra, the king of the gods, stopped his flight of fancy with a thunderbolt (very Zeus-like in Greek mythology). The thunderbolt hit Hanuman on the jaw. Since the Sanskrit word for jaw is hanu, it is presumed that this is where Hanuman gets his name.
Hanuman is said to have been a curious, mischievous child. So much so, that powerful magicians were summoned for help. As a solution, they caused Hanuman to forget that he had magical powers, such as flying or becoming any size that he wanted.
However, when Sita, India's queen, was abducted by Ravana, Sri Lanka's demon king, Sita's husband, Rama, the king of India, enlisted Hanuman's help. Hanuman's memory and powers had to be fully restored. This was accomplished by the bear king, Jambava. The Vanaras (monkey humanoids) formed an army to serve Hanuman, but battle wore them down. King Rama's brother, Laksmana, was also badly injured. The only way to revive the troops and save Laksmana was to gather a powerful herb from the Himalayas. Now, with his memory of his powers restored, Hanuman could jump from southern India to the mountain that grows the powerful herb.
Scary female demons that lived in the waters of the strait tried to swallow him up. Too slow for Hanuman, they tried to swallow his shadow, but they could not. When Ravana's army spotted Hanuman arriving in Sri Lanka, they set Hanuman's giant monkey tail on fire. Hanuman just used his tail to set their camps on fire, keeping them busy. Hanuman didn't have time to discern which herb was which, so he took the whole mountain (as shown in the picture). Only Hanuman was able to travel so far and so fast to be able to bring back the herb that healed the king's brother.
Hanuman teaches us through his great devotion to King Rama, that when you have big love, you can do the seemingly impossible. Nothing is more powerful than love.